WilliamShakespeareEssayRevenge

Revenge
Introduction
Revenge
RecentcommentaryonthequestionofrevengeinShakespeare'splaysfrequentlyalludestothedramatic
genreknownasrevengetragedy,aformthatachievedwidespreadpopularityinthelateElizabethanand
Jacobeanperiod.ThemostnotableEnglishexampleofthisformisThomasKyd'sTheSpanishTragedy
(c.1587),aplaywhichhelpedformulatetheconventionsofthisgenreandtowhichShakespeare's
adaptationsarefrequentlycompared.CriticsdonotagreeontheextenttowhichShakespeare'streatment
ofrevengeadherestoordivergesfromthestandardsestablishedbyKydandothers.EleanorProsser
(1971)assertsthatShakespearescrutinizedthemoralandethicalquandariesfacingtherevengermuch
morecloselythandidanyofhispredecessorsorcontemporaries.Shearguesthathisdepictionofrevenge
generallyreflectsnormativereligiousandethicalpreceptsthatcondemnpersonalretaliationforawrong
indeed,shecontends,Shakespeareendorsedtheideathatrevengeistheprerogativeofheaven.By
contrast,MichaelCameronAndrews(1978)claimsthatregardlessofmoralorreligiousinjunctions
againstpersonalvengeance,ElizabethanandJacobeanaudiencessharedauniversal,instinctivedesireto
seeviolencerepaidwithviolenceandthatShakespeareunderstoodandeven,onoccasion,sympathized
withthisimpulse.Despitedisagreementsoverwhathisworksmayrevealaboutthedramatist'sattitude
towardrevenge,scholarsuniformlyregardHamletandTitusAndronicusastheplaysthatcomeclosestto
therevengetragedymodel.
Likemanyothercritics,CharlesandElaineHallett(1980)maintainthatHamletbrokenewgroundthey
arguethatalthoughShakespeareincorporatedthecentralelementsofrevengetragedyintheplay,he
freelyadaptedthemtofacilitateanexplorationofHamlet'sattempttoreconcilehisactionswiththeevil
implicitinthepursuitofrevenge.Intheirjudgment,theprincipaldistinctionbetweenHamletandits
predecessorsisShakespeare'scomplexcharacterizationoftherevenger.InhisdiscussionofHamlet,
MarkRose(1971)alsoconsidersthestockroleoftherevenger,proposingthatwhileHamletisnot
aversetotheideaofbloodyvengeance,hefindsthetraditionalformofrevengephilosophicallyand
aestheticallycontrarytohisimageofhimself.ForJohnKerrigan(1981),too,revengeisunsuitabletothe
prince'snature.Moreover,hecontendsthatHamletisconvincedthatrevengeispointless,for,unlike
remembrance,itcannotrestorethatwhichhasbeenlost.DavidScottKastan(1987)assertsthatHamlet
triestopersuadehimselfthatrevengeisameansofrestoringthepast,butultimatelyherejects
vengeance,bothbecauseitisfutileandbecauseitentailsreplicatingthecrimethatincitedit.Evaluating
Hamletasaversionofrevengetragedy,MichaelNeill(1983)similarlypointsoutthattherevenger's
pursuitofretributionforpastwrongstraditionallyandparadoxicallyleadshimtoimitatetheactions
oftheobjectofhisvengeance.
Thereciprocalrelationshipbetweenvictims,villains,andrevengersisanimportantfeatureof
commentaryonShakespeare'sotherrevengetragedy,TitusAndronicus.DouglasE.Green(1989),for
example,remarksthattheavengerinthisplaybecomesamirrorimageofhisenemies,forTitus'sactsof
retributionareasshockinglyevilasthedeedsthatledtothem.EleanorProssercontendsthatTitusisa
goodmanwhohasbeengenuinelywronged,buthisextravagantgriefleadstomadness,andheforfeits
oursympathywiththeformofhisvengeanceonTamoraandhersons.Insharpcontrast,Michael
AndrewsthinksitprobablethatShakespeare'soriginalaudienceapplaudedthegrislyproprietyof
Titus'sstrategyandregardeditnotasaheinouscrimebutajustifiedactofrevenge.ComparingTitusto
otherrevengedramas,particularlyTheSpanishTragedy,LawrenceN.Danson(1974)describesitasan
anomaly,especiallywithrespecttoitsrhetoric.InShakespeare'splay,hesuggests,languagebecomesso
elaborate,andrhetoricalexhibitionssooverwrought,thatthereisnolongeranyconnectionbetween

wordsandemotions,orbetweenlanguageandobjectivereality.Alsoaddressingtheissueoflanguage
andsignificationinTitus,DouglasGreenarguesthattheplayisrepletewithinstancesofmen,especially
Titus,suppressingattemptsbywomentoarticulatetheirsuffering,determineitsmeaning,andexacttheir
ownrevenge.
ThoughthemajorityofcommentaryonShakespeareandrevengefocusesonHamletandTitus,critics
haveidentifiedthethemeasanimportantcomponentofotherShakespeareanworks,includingcomedies
andromancesaswellastragedies.MichaelNeill,forexample,discussesthequestionoftherevenge
motifinMacbeth,characterizingtheplay'sprotagonistasarevengerwhobecomesincreasinglyisolated
andwhoseincrementalviolencemasksafeelingofpowerlessness.RichardMadelaine(1998)linksthe
finalsceneinOthellowithculminatingepisodesinEnglishrevengetragedies,andheconsidersthe
climacticsceneinTheSpanishTragedyamajorinfluenceonShakespeare'sdepictionofthemurderof
Desdemona.HarryKeyishian(seeFurtherReading)examinesthedestructivepowerofrevengeinJulius
Caesar,notingthatitsvariousmanifestationsshareacommonidea:bloodiseloquentanddemands
vengeance.Inanotheressay,alsofrom1995(seeFurtherReading),Keyishianfocusesontherevenge
motifin1,2,and3HenryVI,andRichardIII.Hemaintainsthattheseplaysusuallysanctionvengeance
whenitpromotesthecauseofjusticeandalwaysendorseitwhenitiscarriedoutagainsttheFrench
butcondemnitwhenitisexecutedforthepurposeofenhancingpersonalreputationorposition.
BothMichaelNeillandJamesBlack(1986)addressthequestionofrevengeinTheTempest.Neill
describesProsperoasareformedrevenger,amanforwhompatientoptimismhasreplacedretaliation
asthesurestmeansofsecuringthefuture.Blacklinkstheplaywithcontemporaryrevengetragediesand
comparesit,inparticular,withHamlet.Aswithrevengetragedies,hepointsout,TheTempestkeepsthe
audienceinsuspensewithrespecttowhetherProsperowillexactvengeanceontheconspiratorshis
decisiontoforgivethemisnotrevealeduntilthefinalscene.Finally,KarenRobertsondiscernselements
ofrevengetragedyinTwelfthNight,especiallywithregardtoMaria'sschemetodeceiveMalvoliowith
theforgedletter.Shenotesthatthroughitsdepictionofafemalecharacterwhodevisesarevenge
strategyingeniouslysuitedtoherintentiontheexposureofMalvolioTwelfthNightinvertsadramatic
conventionandchallengesmaledominationofthesocialhierarchy.
Criticism: Overviews And General Studies
Mark Rose (essay date 1971)

SOURCE:Rose,Mark.HamletandtheShapeofRevenge.EnglishLiteraryRenaissance1,no.2
(spring1971):13243.
[Inthefollowingessay,RoseassertsthatHamlet,havinghadtheroleofrevengerimposeduponhimby
theghost,endeavorstoredefinethepartandmolditaccordingtohisownmoralandaestheticvalues.]
Likemosttragedies,perhapslikeeverytragedy,Hamletisaplayaboutthelimitsimposeduponthe
mortalwill,aplayaboutthevariousrestrictionsthatfleshisheirto.PoloniusspeakstoOpheliaofthe
tetherwithwhichHamletwalksandtheimageisausefulonetokeepinmindforitsuggestsboththat
theprincedoes...
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Eleanor Prosser (essay date 1971)

SOURCE:Prosser,Eleanor.ShakespeareandRevenge.InHamletandRevenge.1967.Reprint,pp.74
94.Stanford:StanfordUniversityPress,1971.
[Inthefollowingessay,ProssersurveysanumberofexamplesofShakespeareancharacterswhoeither
chooseordeclinetopursuepersonalvengeance.ShefindsnoevidencethatShakespeare'splaysportray
privaterevengeasdivinelysanctioned,requiredbyacodeofhonor,orjustifiedbysocialconvention

instead,sheargues,theyrepeatedlylinkrevengewithsuchpernicioustraitsasirrationality,
impulsiveness,andmadness.]
EventhoughrevengewasgenerallycondemnedintheElizabethanandJacobeandrama,theatrical...
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Lawrence N. Danson (essay date 1974)

SOURCE:Danson,LawrenceN.TheDeviceofWonder:TitusAndronicusandRevengeTragedies.
TexasStudiesinLiteratureandLanguage16,no.1(spring1974):2743.
[Inthefollowingessay,DansoncontendsthatasinthegreatElizabethandramasthatfollowedit,the
supremetragicactioninTitusAndronicusisnotrevengebuttheformalizationofdeath.]
TheproliferationofgenericcategoriesforElizabethandramaisaproblemasancientasPolonius'
namingoftheparts:tragedy,comedy,history,pastoral,pastoralcomical,tragicalhistorical,tragical
comicalhistoricalpastoral,sceneindividable,orpoemunlimited.Onefirmlyentrenched...
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Michael Cameron Andrews (essay date 1978)

SOURCE:Andrews,MichaelCameron.Hamlet:RevengeandtheCriticalMirror.EnglishLiterary
Renaissance8,no.1(winter1978):923.
[Inthefollowingessay,AndrewschallengesthenotionthatShakespeare'splaysadheretoorthodox
religiousandethicalpreceptsthatcondemnthepursuitofpersonalrevenge.UsingTitusAndronicusas
hischiefexample,thecriticmaintainsthatElizabethanaudiencesmighthaverespondedsympathetically
torevengefiguresiftheircausewasjustandthatShakespearehimselfwithheldmoraljudgmentinthe
caseofatleastsomeofhisbloodrevengers.]
Hamletisahighlypersonalplay.Webringtoitallthatwe...
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Charles A. Hallett and Elaine S. Hallett (essay date 1980)

SOURCE:Hallett,CharlesA.,andElaineS.Hallett.Hamlet.InTheRevenger'sMadness:AStudyof
RevengeTragedyMotifs,pp.181222.Lincoln:UniversityofNebraskaPress,1980.
[Inthefollowingessay,theHallettsofferadetailedappraisalofHamletintermsofShakespeare's
mergerofthetraditionalrevengetragedyformwithhisbroadervisionofthetragicconsequencesofthe
searchfortruth.Emphasizingthattheplayanditsprotagonistsrepresentuniqueexpressionsofthis
form,thecriticsdemonstrateShakespeare'srefinementsandalterationsofanumberofrevenge
conventions.]
'Tisnowtheverywitchingtimeofnight,
Whenchurchyards...

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John Kerrigan (essay date 1981)

SOURCE:Kerrigan,John.Hieronimo,HamletandRemembrance.EssaysinCriticism31,no.2(April
1981):10526.
[Inthefollowingessay,Kerrigandiscussestheconnectionbetweenrevengeandrememberingin
Shakespeare'sHamletandKyd'sTheSpanishTragedy,withspecialreferencetoTheChoephoroeof
Aeschylus.PreoccupationwiththepastisahallmarkofbothElizabethantragedies,Kerrigannotes,but
hepointsoutasignificantdifference:WhereasKyd'sprotagonistHieronimoavengeshissonbyslaying
hismurderers,Hamlet,believingthatvengeanceisfutile,honorshisfather'smemorybutdoesnotkill
Claudiusexpresslyinrevengeforhisfathers...
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Michael Neill (essay date 1983)

SOURCE:Neill,Michael.RemembranceandRevenge:Hamlet,MacbethandTheTempest.InJonson
andShakespeare,editedbyIanDonaldson,pp.3556.London:Macmillan,inassociationwith
HumanitiesResearchCentre,AustralianNationalUniversity,Canberra,1983.
[Inthefollowingessay,NeilldiscussesthethemeofrevengeinHamlet,Macbeth,andTheTempest.He
assertsthatHamletandMacbethareantitypesthefirstseekingtopreservethepastandthesecondto
obliterateitandcontendsthatbotharedestroyedbytheirobsession.Bycontrast,Neillsuggests,
Prosperoredeemsthepastnotbyrevengingitbutbyrestoringit.]
In...
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James Black (essay date 1986)

SOURCE:Black,James.ShakespeareandtheComedyofRevenge.InComparativeCritical
ApproachestoRenaissanceComedy,editedbyDonaldBeecherandMassimoCiavolella,pp.13751.
CarletonRenaissancePlaysinTranslationSeries,no.9.Ottawa:DovehouseEditionsCanada,1986.
[Inthefollowingessay,BlacksuggeststhatTheTempestmaybereadasarevengecomedythat
featuresaprotagonistwhohasthepowertoretaliateforwrongsdonetohimyetchoosesnottodoso.
Hecallsattentiontothemanyelementstheplayhasincommonwithconventionalrevengetragedy,
particularlyHamlet.]
Renaissancerevengetragedyisawidelyrecognizedandclearly...
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David Scott Kastan (essay date 1987)

SOURCE:Kastan,DavidScott.Hissemblableishismirror:HamletandtheImitationofRevenge.
ShakespeareStudies19(1987):11124.
[Inthefollowingessay,KastanassertsthatHamlettriestopersuadehimselfthatrevengeisameansof
restoringthepast,butultimatelyrejectsvengeance,bothbecauseitisfutileandbecauseitentails
replicatingthecrimethatincitedit.]
ThroughthestreetsofJerusalematthepresentdaycrawlsonewhoismadandcarriesa
woodencrossonhisshoulders.Heisasymbolofthelivesthataremarredbyimitation.

OscarWilde
...
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Douglas E. Green (essay date 1989)

SOURCE:Green,DouglasE.Interpretinghermartyr'dsigns:GenderandTragedyinTitus
Andronicus.ShakespeareQuarterly40,no.3(fall1989):31726.
[Inthefollowingessay,GreensuggeststhatthefemalecharactersinTitusAndronicusarereflectionsof
theprotagonistandthathisrevengemirrorstheirs,evenasitobscurestheirsufferinganddistress.
GreenmaintainsthatbothTamoraandLaviniarepresentathreattopatriarchalpower:Tamora,
becausethemurderofhersongivesherjustcausetoseekretributionandLavinia,becauseifshecould
speakshewouldtellofherdominationbymaleauthority,inthepersonsofherkinsmenaswellasher...
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Marty Roth (essay date 1992)

SOURCE:Roth,Marty.TheBloodthatFuryBreathed:TheShapeofJusticeinAeschylusand
Shakespeare.ComparativeLiteratureStudies29,no.2(1992):14156.
[Inthefollowingessay,RothremarksontheparallelsbetweenAeschylus'sEumenidesand
Shakespeare'sTheMerchantofVenice,withspecialreferencetotheirdepictionsoftheconflictbetween
oldandnewordersofrevengeandjustice.]
TwothousandyearsbeforePortiaappealedtotheJewformercyandthendefeatedhim,themaiden
Athenaconvenedtheworld'sfirstcourtofjustice.ShestoodbetweenOrestesandtheErinyes,whowere,
likeShylock,doggedlybentonrevenge.Shetoomade...
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Karen Robertson (essay date 1996)

SOURCE:Robertson,Karen.ARevengingFeminineHandinTwelfthNight.InReadingandWriting
inShakespeare,editedbyDavidM.Bergeron,pp.11630.Newark:UniversityofDelawarePress,1996.
[Inthefollowingessay,Robertsonfocusesonthegullingscene(ActIII,sceneiv)inTwelfthNight,
emphasizingtherarityofarevengeperpetratedbyawoman.SheassertsthatMaria'sliteracyskillsas
wellashershrewdunderstandingofMalvolio'svulnerabilityarehallmarksofapersoncapableof
challengingestablishedordersofsocialhierarchy.]
AtthecoreofthegullingplotofTwelfthNightliesaletter,deliberatelyforgedinafeminine...
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Richard Madelaine (essay date 1998)

SOURCE:Madelaine,Richard.PuttingouttheLight:ASnuffVariant?InShakespeare:Readers,
Audiences,Players,editedbyR.S.White,CharlesEdelman,andChristopherWortham,pp.20719.
Nedlands:UniversityofWesternAustraliaPress,1998.

[Inthefollowingessay,MadelaineanalyzesthemurderofDesdemonainthecontextofclimacticscenes
ofdeathandviolenceinEnglishrevengetragedies.ThecriticarguesthatalthoughShakespearemade
useofthedramaticconventionsassociatedwithsuchsnuffscenesandanticipatedaudienceresponse
tohisdepictionoferoticviolence,hemodifiedtheseconventionsandchallengedthatresponseby
highlightingOthello'salienation...
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